


in the garden of our sleep

by sapphire2309



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, F/F, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 11:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18119984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphire2309/pseuds/sapphire2309
Summary: Elena comes across something strange on a routine patrol.





	in the garden of our sleep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Annapods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annapods/gifts).



> Title from Drive by Charlotte Cardin

Elena trudged determinedly through the overgrowth, brushing her sweaty, hopelessly knotted hair out of her face. She wasn’t really expected to do such mundane things as scout a portion of the border for threats, but she took any chance she could to leave the palace and its restrictions. 

The Queen of the neighbouring kingdom was a sorceress, and fear of an invasion made their sundry courtiers and generals uneasy. Patrolling the border was hardly a guarantee of safety, but it put minds at ease, so it was done.

Elena bristled as soon as she caught sight of the glass and gold, glinting through the leaves in the afternoon light. She moved towards it as quietly as she could, mindful of a possible trap. 

The fact that it took the shape of a coffin didn’t settle her any. Of course, it was a girl inside. God forbid a beautiful woman rest in peace even when she was dead. 

Elena grimaced as she approached, not looking forward to the sight of maggots feasting on dead flesh. People really didn’t think these things through sometimes. But the girl in the coffin looked as if she’d died not five minutes ago, which was impossible, given the wear and tear on the coffin. Elena hefted the lid up and let it fall to the other side. Could she be asleep? 

She pulled a knife from her side and laid it near the girl’s nose. The slightest mist of condensation formed on the blade. Breathing, then, but barely. 

Nothing about the body stood out to her, other than slightly puffed cheeks. She forced the girl’s jaw open to find a blackened, vile-smelling piece of something that must have been edible at some point. She used her knife to skewer the thing and flicked it away into the undergrowth. 

The girl shot up violently, coughing and gasping. 

Elena stepped back and raised her knife, eyes darting back and forth from the girl to the thing she’d removed from her mouth. She’d expected a far slower reaction than that. 

Once the girl had caught her breath, she turned to Elena, who lowered her knife cautiously. 

“Uh.” Elena waved awkwardly. “Hi?”

“What happened?” the girl asked, confusion in her eyes.

“I’m really not sure. But, you were dead? Or looked dead. And now you’re not! Or you don’t. So, congratulations?” 

She offered the girl an arm, which was grasped gently but firmly as the girl descended from her perch. 

Elena sheathed her knife and unclasped a flask from her belt. “Would you like some water?” she asked, figuring that coming back from the dead must be exhausting. 

The girl looked around the clearing and smiled slightly. “The cottage is right there,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder. 

Sure enough, there it was, behind some conveniently overgrown foliage.

“Right,” she said lamely, returning her flask to its place.

-:-

As it turned out, the dead girl had friends. Dwarves, seven of them, marching single file, with axes over their exceptionally-close-to-the-ground shoulders, which were raised and pointed squarely at her when they registered that the coffin was open and the girl apparently missing.

“Where is she?” one of them demanded. Elena squinted at the axe. _Grumpy_ , it said in bold letters.

“In the cottage there,” she said, pointing with her chin.

“She’s dead,” said a dwarf clinging to an axe that said _Happy_ , completely at odds with the tears dripping down his face. “What did you do to her body?”

“Nothing,” she said firmly, hands itching for her knives. “She’s-” the girl burst out of the cottage, likely having heard the fracas, “-right there.”

Most of the dwarves lowered their axes, identical expressions of flabbergast on their faces. One sneezed happily, if that was even possible. 

Happy, however, didn’t relax his grip on the handle of his axe one bit. “What did you do to her, witch?”

Elena gritted her teeth. She had no more patience for this outlandish day. “Listen, _Cheerful-_ ”

“It’s Happy!” he snapped. 

“-all I did was remove some rotten produce from her mouth. I’m not a witch, I’m not even an apothecary, and I _really_ don’t enjoy being threatened with axes, so if you’ll just celebrate her return from the grave and leave me be, I’d appreciate it.” 

With those words, she made to stalk out of the clearing, but was stopped short by a hand on her shoulder. 

“Would you stay?” asked the girl she’d just… saved? Saved

Elena assessed her warily, all but ready to refuse.

“This makes the fourth time my mother’s tried to kill me,” the girl said softly. “I don’t want to be alone when the dwarves leave for work tomorrow.”

Elena bit the inside of her cheek. Her _mother_ had tried to kill her? 

She looked away, trying to ignore the horror in her gut. Her own mother wasn’t exactly her best friend, what with all the jewels and gowns she’d foisted upon her, but she’d never made her fear for her _life_.

“I can’t stay forever. I’m supposed to…” She trailed off, biting back her words. “That’s not important. I’ll have to leave, soon enough.”

The girl turned away, visibly crestfallen.

Elena scowled in irritation at the painful empathy she felt in her chest. She barely even _knew_ this girl, for crying out loud. “I can stay for now,” she said anyway, hating the way she felt happier upon seeing the light her words brought to the girl’s eyes. 

God, she was going soft.


End file.
